Modern radar electronics systems, whether employing a single radiating structure such as a simple receiving antenna or high gain dish, or configured as a complex multi-element phased array system, use polarization measurements as a significant processing parameter for processing RF signals. Such polarization techniques and microwave circuitry are described by Mohuchy in a commonly assigned U.S. Pat. 4,937,582 entitled Polarization Adaptive Active Aperture System, issued Jun. 26, 1990 and incorporated herein by reference. Past approaches to controlling signal amplitude and phase characteristics have employed ferrite phase control devices for providing accurate polarization measurements. However, such approaches suffer major disadvantages as a result of the large size of the elements, significant processing time delays, and high manufacturing costs incurred in fabricating them. These disadvantages have limited the manner and nature of the deployment of such systems. Additionally, the RF characteristics of ferrite devices relative to the propagation characteristics in waveguides limit their useful operating bandwidths and make them incompatible with the multi-octave operating capability of modem antennas and RF circuits, currently implemented using high level integrated circuits fabricated on semiconductor materials such as Gallium Arsenide (GaAs).
Consequently, it is greatly desired to have an improved device for controlling and adapting the amplitude and phase characteristics of RF signals. A device employing solid state/microwave integrated circuit chip technology would thus achieve considerable size and cost reductions while increasing the dynamic range.